Regional literature of the period again illustrates the overwhelming importance of the dowry in Sicilian society, except for the most destitute, and the implications for women whose families could not adequately provide a means for securing their future.8 The unlucky few had little choice but to live out their days in the homes of their fathers (the casa paterna) or that of a brother if their parents were deceased. This also held true for “house nuns” (monache di casa), women who wished to enter convents but who were prevented from doing so either because of poverty (religious orders required a monetary or land contribution equivalent to that of a dowry) or “the unwillingness of their parents to dispense with their services at home” (Chapman 1971, 42).

While land and monetary assets figured prominently in marriage arrangements, the formal centerpiece of a woman’s dowry in early-twentieth-century Sicily was still the trousseau, or corredo. Begun as soon as a young girl had mastered the arts of sewing, lace work, and embroidery, the corredo took years to assemble and its worth was calculated in all marriage negotiations. In his Customs and Habits of the Sicilian Peasants, the nineteenth-century Sicilian ethnographer Salvatore Salomone-Marino discusses the ritual washing, laying out, and appraisal of traditional articles—pillowcases, sheets, tablecloths, and undergarments—prior to the wedding (1981, 186–87). Since exceptional skill in the domestic arts was one of the few ways a woman could distinguish herself in Sicilian society, an impressive corredo was a source of deep pride and often her most prized possession. Depending on a woman’s artistry, the intricacy of the patterns chosen, and the quality of the materials used, the value of the corredo could be immeasurable (186–87; Schneider and Schneider 1996, 210).

In theory, the corredo, along with the rest of a woman’s dowry, remained her property as long as she lived. However, in spite of laws that allegedly protected a woman’s inheritance, abuses were not uncommon.9 Inheritance laws, in fact, often influenced how families proceeded in marriage arrangements. For those intent on consolidating their land holdings, refusing a daughter or sister permission to marry was one way of achieving this end. In reality, the economic benefits for the family were threefold. Land patrimonies remained intact, family members were relieved of a significant financial burden, and daughters who to this point had been viewed as a potential drain on family resources, were now available to take on broader, domestic responsibilities, thus eliminating the need for hired outside help.

Perhaps one of the cruelest social conventions still practiced in Sicily at the turn of the century required women to be confined within the home during periods of bereavement. While tradition dictated that males be in attendance at the consòlo, the three- to eight-day requisite mourning period when visitors offered condolences, all understood that men’s presence in the fields or the town was indispensable to the family’s survival. As a consequence, the enactment of ritual customs associated with death and the task of demonstrating adequate mourning for the loss of a loved one fell to female family members. Failure to conform to the rigorous protocol of strict mourning meant opening oneself and one’s family to reproach and the loss of status.10